When I think of bad customer service I think of the demise of the British car industry and the rise of the Japanese car industry back in the 70s and 80s.
A distinct lack of customer focus
I was told that the Japanese listened to what customers wanted and responded appropriately while the British told their customers what they needed and didn’t listen to what they wanted.
This quote from Aidrian Bridgeman-Sutton says it well:
“British car makers in the fifties, sixties and seventies often suffered from a rather condescending attitude to their customers.
“There was something of a “we know better” mentality about the sorts of cars and features that they thought people needed and wanted which resulted in home market cars being supplied without any significant changes to suit export markets.”
The reasons for British car industry’s demise are more complex than that but that kind of attitude certainly didn’t help.
What are the pain points of your customers?
Understanding what our customers need from us is crucial to building a successful brand.
They have needs that they want us to solve. Seems easy enough but our very knowledge and experience can hamper us from keeping tabs on the changing challenges that they face.
If in doubt ask
Make sure that you canvas your customers on what they (really) think of the service that you provide.
Hard to do and maybe uncomfortable, but you will gain great insights that will definitely improve your business and its bottom line.
If you are a client of mine, present or past, get in touch and let me know what you really (really, really) think of my customer focus.